Morocco calls on Algeria to reopen land border

Morocco called on Algeria on Thursday to reopen the border closed 14 years ago and remove visas procedures between the two countries.”The Kingdom of Morocco calls with a brotherly friendship and total sincerity for a normalisation of the bilateral relations and the re-opening of the border between the two countries,” said a statement published by Moroccan foreign affairs ministry.

Morocco expressed once again its willingness to open a new page in the relations between the two neighbouring countries “taking into account their common past and shared destiny.”

The statement focused on expected economic and commercial privileges after the reopening of borders with Algeria.

Morocco has been losing up to $1.0 billion per year in trade and tourism revenue because of the closed border.

Algeria closed its land borders with Morocco in 1994 after an attack on a hotel in Marrakesh. At that time, Morocco accused Algeria of being responsible for that shooting and imposed entry visas on Algerians. Consequently, Algeria responded by closing the border and imposing visas as well on Moroccan nationals.

In 2005, Morocco cancelled the visas system and Algeria did the same thing in 2006 but the border is still closed.

The Moroccan call for normalising ties with Algeria came after two days since Morocco and the Sahrawi government ended a fourth round of talks in Manhasset near New York without any agreement between the two sides. Morocco proposed a unique option which consists in Saharan autonomy within Moroccan sovereignty